The state of the economy is an issue on everyone's mind.
Currently the national unemployment average is at 7.7%. Here in Indiana that
number is up to 8.6%. In Allen County that number rises to 9.1%.

A rise in the number of Hoosiers looking for work
contributed to the jump in unemployment. Indiana added 8,200 private sector
jobs in January, marking the 19th consecutive month of job growth.

Brandon Averyheart moved to Fort Wayne two weeks ago from
Cleveland Ohio. The unemployment rate in Ohio is currently 7%.

Brandon is hopeful he will find work soon. "Oh yeah
definitely, I'm definitely confident that I'll find a good job out here so, "
He told WFFT.

Brandon is working with professionals at Work One to help
him land a job. Work One's Vice President of Services, Gary Gatman told WFFT unemployment
figures are growing even with more jobs because people lack the skills
necessary to get new jobs.

"We actually have been talking with a number of employers
who have jobs that are going unfilled in this region. To be clear these are
higher skills jobs so their advanced machine jobs, advanced industrial jobs,"
said Gatman.

Work One provides training programs for the unemployed to
learn skills for higher-level jobs.